Insecurity and Hunger Cripple Baringo County Schools
For several weeks, students at Ngaratuko Primary School in Baringo County have been facing harsh conditions. Each day, they are escorted under tight security to fetch water from a nearby well, their only source of water.
Previously, the school had water storage facilities, but ongoing insecurity has led to vandalism of these infrastructures. Purity Rotich, a teacher at Ngaratuko Primary School, explained that the school’s borehole in the village broke down.
Currently, they rely on river water, but accessing it has become dangerous due to insecurity. She noted that the school’s facilities were burned, including essential items like jerricans and tanks.
The insecurity has not only damaged the infrastructure but also forced the school, which has only 57 students, to double as a safe haven for families threatened by bandit attacks.
During the day, classrooms serve as learning spaces, but at night, they turn into makeshift homes. Often, students have to skip classes to take care of their younger siblings while their parents work on nearby farms, trying to recover from the disruption caused by banditry.
Food Shortages
In addition to insecurity, food shortages have made it difficult for schools to maintain student attendance, especially in high schools.
Francis Cheptile, the School Principal, reported that the school had only one 90kg bag of maize and eight 50kg bags of beans left.
This shortage has forced students to eat porridge for dinner to conserve their limited supplies. Cheptile mentioned that students recently walked to Marigat because they had no food.
Schools have had to collaborate to address the food crisis worsened by insecurity. Thomas Kiburet, the Headteacher of Yatya Primary School, revealed that his school had to provide food to the secondary school after their students went without food for three days.
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The school community is now urging the government to take swift action to resolve the banditry issue and supply adequate food to schools.
Ensuring students do not miss out on their education is critical as the school year progresses towards midterms and eventually the end of the academic year.
Insecurity and Hunger Cripple Baringo County Schools
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